8 August 2018 - Medical procedures likely to have little clinical benefit are still being performed in Australian hospitals, wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of bed days that could be freed up for more needy patients.

Despite doctor-led campaigns to limit unnecessary interventions and expense, research confirms some procedures have increased in recent years, undermining the work being done to ensure ­patients are treated appropriately.

A landmark study led by professor Adam Elshaug of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy at the University of Sydney has drawn attention to the high number of low-value procedures and significant variation between hospitals in NSW alone.

Read The Australian article